CTF 0042

As Xu Yin walked along the village road, the setting sun cast a warm glow on her. Her cousin’s rice paddy fish had already been herded out of the rice fields. They swam along the channel and were now in a large tub at the inlet. Several other tubs and containers were lined up beside it, filled to the brim, with fish occasionally leaping out.

She approached for a closer look and exclaimed, “Oh! Jianjun, your fish have been raised so well!”

When the others saw it was her, they joyfully chimed in.

“Yinyin, you’re back?”

“Yinyin, you’re finally home! We’ve been wanting you to make us some clothes.”

“What clothes are you talking about? Yinyin is here to help with fish harvesting.”

“That’s right! Yin, next season, our family will also raise fish just like yours. Can you teach us how to make fish feed then?”

Xu Yin gave her cousin a look, silently asking, ‘Was this your doing?’

Xu Jianjun rubbed his nose and said, “Let’s all give it a rest for now. Yinyin has just come back. She hasn’t even been home yet.”

Pushing through the crowd, Xu Jianjun tied two of the largest carp with a piece of twine and handed them to Xu Yin, saying, “Take these and have a fresh meal at home.”

Xu Yin waved her hand and replied, “We have fish at home.”

“What you have is from your home, and what I give you is from my home. They’re different. Take it! No need to be so polite!” Xu Jianjun insisted.

Xu Dajiao was busy dividing the fish and immediately chimed in, “Yinyin, you better take it quickly. The fish grew this big thanks to your formula.”

Xu Yin accepted the fish with a smile.

Upon seeing her daughter returning, Mother Xu expressed both joy and a hint of annoyance, “Why did you stay for so long? Weren’t you supposed to come back before July? If we didn’t have to harvest the rice and collect the fish, would you have stayed even longer?”

Xu Yin found it amusing. “Well, you’re the one who encouraged me to stay a few extra days and enjoy the food at my brother’s house. Do you think I’ve put on some weight?”

“…”

What weight?

Her mother rolled her eyes. “You’re so tiny that a strong wind could blow you away.”

Xu Yin pouted. “You’re exaggerating.”

She decided not to mess with her mother further. 

“Mom, these are fish from Jianjun’s family. They harvested them today, and there were so many people watching. I took a look as I passed by, and he gave me two of them.”

Mother Xu snorted and took the fish, saying, “You shared the fish feed formula, and it’s because of that they managed to raise their fish so big. Giving you two fish is still a good deal for them.”

Xu Yin gazed at the sky and changed the subject. “How are our rice paddy fish doing?”

When asked about their rice paddy fish, Mother Xu’s face immediately lit up. “Our fish are doing exceptionally well! The biggest ones are nearly three pounds, and even the smallest ones are around half a pound. We’re just waiting for you to come back and drain the water to harvest them.”

“Where’s Dad?” Xu Yin followed her mother into the house, set her luggage down, and looked around, but she didn’t see her father.

“He’s probably out at his watermelon field again. Our watermelons are growing well this year. They’ve made him so happy. He says our family’s luck is turning around this year, with the fish thriving and the watermelons being sweet.”

Whenever their family’s income was mentioned, Mother Xu wouldn’t be able to stop smiling.

“If he had known you were coming back today, he’d have picked a big watermelon for you. Once you taste it, you’ll understand. This year’s watermelons are incredibly sweet, with lots of juice. You don’t even need to cut them; a gentle slice, and they split open. The black seeds and red flesh are gorgeous. We’re sure to get a good price for them.”

“When will we sell them?”

“After we finish harvesting the early rice, I think. Your father checked them, and there aren’t many ripe ones yet. Once we’re done with the rice, they should be just right. When we plough the fields and fertilise them, we’ll take them to the collection station. Your uncle will come to help.”

Xu Yin nodded and suggested, “I’ll find some time to go to the farm and ask Instructor Yu. If I can borrow a tractor, we can plough the fields and transport the watermelons, saving us from using the handcart.”

Her mother’s eyes lit up. “If we could borrow a tractor, that would be fantastic! When will you go? When you do, remember to bring some watermelons.”

Xu Yin thought for a moment, “How about tomorrow morning? I’ll try to come back early so we don’t delay our fish harvesting.”

“You should wait until after we’ve finished harvesting the fish. You can also bring a few fish with you.” Mother Xu was highly appreciative of Instructor Yu, who was willing to lend the tractor, and she was generous when it came to gifts and tokens of appreciation for him.

Naturally, Xu Yin had no objections.

“Mom, these are shoes and clothes that my sister-in-law made for you and Dad. Also, she prepared a big package of special products from Tongcheng, but it will take a while to arrive because it’s been sent via freight. My brother was worried that I couldn’t carry it all, so he arranged for it to be sent instead, and it should arrive in a couple of days. My sister-in-law went to great lengths to prepare all of that for me on this trip.”

“That is only right,” Mother Xu said. She was as harsh on her daughter-in-law as she always had been.

However, compared to before, she had improved her attitude towards her daughter-in-law by a lot. At least she no longer constantly scolded her.

Xu Yin began taking out the items in her bag one by one.

“These snacks are famous in Tongcheng. I bought two boxes. I’ll give one to Grandma when I visit. This is sheep oil for your hands in the winter, this is alcohol and tea for Dad, and this is for Uncle…”

These were all light food and supplies. 

The rolls of wool, cashmere thread, fabrics, and several jars of duck, ham, and dried mutton were shipped with the freight.

Her sister-in-law had also asked her to bring some things for her family. When going to collect the package, she planned to make a detour to Houhai Village to not only deliver the goods but also send some products that she’d send to Tongcheng.

After sorting out the items, Mother Xu said, “I’ll go call your father and bring back a watermelon.” 

Then, she left.

Xu Yin peeked outside and couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. 

She thought to herself, ‘Mom, you’re heading in the wrong direction. Dad is in the watermelon field, which is in the opposite direction from the village entrance. And why would you need to change into new clothes and shoes to go to the watermelon field? You’re going to show off, definitely!’

That night, Xu Yin’s family cut open a big watermelon.

Sure enough, as Mother Xu said, the black seeds and red flesh were gorgeous. The red flesh was sweet and juicy, many times more delicious than the greenhouse-grown watermelons that she used to eat in the future.

Xu Yin ate so much that she felt stuffed and lay back in her reclining chair, not wanting to move. She remarked, “We’re going to lose money if we sell our watermelons to the collection station.”

Collection stations had fixed prices based on weight, and all watermelons were priced the same, regardless of their quality. After thinking for a while, she suggested, “Why don’t we take them to the residential areas to sell? It’s hot out, and people would want to buy watermelons.”

“Is that possible?” Mother Xu’s thinking was still stuck in the past. She was worried about getting caught for private selling.

Xu Yin explained how there were street vendors in Tongcheng and added, “Mom, there are also street vendors around here, we just don’t know about them.”

Mother Xu couldn’t make up her mind and looked at Father Xu, saying, “What do you think, dear?”

“Let’s go with our daughter’s idea,” Father Xu replied. 

This was the first time in his life that he had grown such good watermelons, and he was a bit reluctant to sell them at a uniform price to the collection station.

“So, it’s settled then,” Xu Yin confirmed. “After we finish harvesting the fish tomorrow, I’ll go borrow a tractor from Instructor Yu.”

The next day, the Xu family started draining the water from the rice fields to harvest the fish. Among the four mus of paddy fields that they had, they had only used one mu to raise fish, and it was evident that the rice plants on this mu were fuller and more bountiful.

Xu Yin explained that it was the result of the work of the rice-fish combination. 

Mother Xu once again regretted not listening to her daughter and raising more fish from the start. If they had not only raised a few more fish in that mu but also introduced rice-fish cultivation to the other three mus, this year would have truly been a year of bumper harvests.